(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to elastomeric means for providing electrical connector pin isolation and more particularly to a means for achieving full electrical connection between corresponding pins and sockets of an electrical connector as well as full pin-to-pin electrical isolation while the connector is immersed in a wet environment without requiring removal of the connector from such environment.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that many types of electrical connectors are attached to equipments which are deployed underwater such as sonar systems and the like. Such equipment requires repair or routine maintenance from time to time. This repair or maintenance however necessitates removal of the equipment from the submerged location and therefor concomitant disconnection of all electrical connectors attached thereto. On occasion connector seals have failed, the connectors themselves have flooded and then shorted pin-to-pin, requiring replacement or refurbishment. In order to then reconnect the removed equipment or repair the connectors, the installation location must somehow be made dry or else one of the present, commercially available, underwater (UW) mateable type electrical connectors must have been used to begin with. These present underwater mateable connectors however are well known to be bulky, expensive and generally not available in sufficient quantity. Further, when intended for submarine sonar use, present UW mateable connectors are also of limited value due to their not having been designed to meet exacting military specifications. What is needed is a means for permitting existing, relatively inexpensive, dry-assembly type, electrical connectors to be made capable of direct underwater disassembly, in-place refurbishment and reconnection yet still provide full electrical function, thus eliminating the need to resort to dry-docking or the like.